Combination golf club and magnetically held marker



M. W. PRUITT April 11, 1961 COMBINATION GOLF CLUB AND MAGNETICALLY HELD MARKER Filed July 25, 1960 INVENTOR.

MARK W. PRU/7'7 COMBINATION GOLF CLUB AND MAG- NETICALLY HELD MARKER Mark W. Pruitt, 2282 Dunhaven St., San Diego, Calif.

Filed July 25, 1960, Ser. No. 44,981

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-162) The present invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to a putter having a permanent magnet used for removably carrying a magnetic keeper which, when removed, is utilized as a marker for indicating the previous position of a golf ball which had been lifted from the putting green.

The upper extreme end of the handle of the putter of the present invention is provided with an open top recess. A permanent magnet is disposed within the recess with the upper side thereof below the top of the handle. A marker of magnetic material is disposed within the recess and above the magnet and is removably held in place by the magnet. The walls of the recess completely surround the marker when held in position by the magnet, and preferably, the top side of the marker is slightly below the top of the putter.

The maximum width of the marker is slightly less than the minimum width of the recess whereby the marker is removable from the recess through the open top thereof. The width of the upper end of the magnet is less than any width of the marker whereby the upper outer edge of the magnet functions as a fulcrum about which the marker can be tilted when the marker is depressed adjacent an outer edge thereof. Preferably the upper end of the magnet and the marker are circular.

The advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a putter, namely the upper part of the handle of the putter, and showing the marker as being depressed adjacent an outer edge thereof, by a finger, the latter being shown in phantom;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the putter handle with the marker held in position by the magnet, the magnet being shown in dotted lines;

Hg?! is a fragmentary view of the upper part of the putter, part thereof being shown in section, the section being taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the putter with the marker removed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the marker;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the putter in inverted position with the marker therebelow and which is about to be picked up off the green by magnetic attraction; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view, in section, of the upper part of a putter showing another aspect of the invention.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the upper end of the handle of a putter is shown at 20 having a wood or composition base 22 and the usual wrapping of non-skid material such as leather 24. The upper end of the handle is provided with a recess 26, the lower portion of the recess being formed in the upper end of the base 22 as at 28, and upper portion of said recess being formed in a non-magnetic upper end cover 30 for the base 22 as at 32. The recess 26 also includes the walls of a central opening 34 in the bottom of the i 2 cover 30. This cover is held in position in any suitable manner.

' A permanent magnet 36 is disposed within the recess 26. It is preferably circularly shaped in horizontal section, as viewed in Fig. 3, and the upper end thereof is grooved to provide pole pieces 38 and 40. The lower portion of the magnet is tightly embedded in the base 22. The upper portion projects through and above the opening 34 in the cover 30. The keeper of the magnet in the form of iron or steel forms a removable marker 42 which is also preferably circular in shape. This marker is materially wider than the upper surface 44 of the magnet 36. The marker, when lying flat on the magnet, should not extend above the top of the cover, but should be completely encircled by the cover so that it is not readily accidentally dislocated while handling the club.

Since the marker 42 is wider than the upper surface 44 of the magnet 36, it can be readily tilted by pressing on the outer surface thereof near the periphery thereof. When such pressure is applied, the outer edge of the magnet functions as a fulcrum for the marker. By pressing near the outer edge of the marker with a finger or thumb, the other fingers of the same hand of the player can be used to detach the marker from the magnet, since at that time, the part of the marker which is diagonally opposite the point of pressure on the marker, is raised a sufiicient distance above the cover 30 so that it is readily accessible for handling, as shown in Fig. 1. In fact, the marker can be removed by the finger of that hand of the player which is carrying the putter.

Obviously the marker can be placed in position on the club in a facile manner. Too, as seen from Fig. 6, the construction is such'that the club can be used for lifting the marker oif the green. Thus eliminating a stooping movement of the player. Often a putt is conceded after the position of the ball had been marked by the marker or when putting is useless, as for example, when the hole is lost in play. Once the marker is attracted to the magnet, it can, if not properly seated in the recess, be readily seated by a sliding movement imparted thereto by a finger.

In the aspect of the invention shown in Fig. 7, a screw 146 is used to hold the magnet 136 and cover in position. This screw extends into the base 22. A downwardly facing shoulder 148 on the magnet 136 engages the depressed portion of the cover 130 about the opening 134 therein. Like in the embodiment shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the recess 126 includes the recess portion 128 in the upper part of base 122 and the upper portion 132 of the recess is formed by the depression in the cover 130. The pole pieces are shown at 138 and 140.

While the forms of embodiment herein shown and described constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms may be adapted falling within the scope of the claims that follow.

I claim r 1. The combination with a golf club handle, said handle having an open top recess in the upper end thereof; a permanent magnet disposed in the upper end of the handle with the upper side thereof below the top of the handle; and/a marker of magnetizable material above the magnet and completely within the recess, the maximum width of the marker being less than the minimum width of the recess, whereby the marker is removable through the top of the recess, the upper end of the magnet having a lesser width than any width of the marker whereby the upper outer edge of the magnet functions as a fulcrum about which the marker can be tilted by depression adjacent an outer edge of the marker.

2,979,835 3 4 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, in which the References Cited in the file of this patent marker is circular. UNI

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, in which the TED STATES PATENTS upper end of the magnet is circular in horizontal cross- 1,634,652. Czichos July 5, 1927 section. 5 1,852,956 Czichos Apr. 5, 1932 4. A combination as defined in claim 3, in which the 2,178,872 Engstrom Nov. 7, 1939 marker is circular. 

